A vampire is a human being who has died but has been resurrected by specific supernatural means and possesses a variety of supernatural abilities and specific limitations, most notably to frequently ingest fresh blood in order to maintain their own existence. Vampires have often been referred to as "undead" throughout the centuries since, even when active, they were not truly alive in the same sense as ordinary human beings. Technically, they can be classified as actually being dead.

Sustenance

Vampires require the fresh blood of living beings, preferably the blood of humans, in order to sustain their physical existence and, usually, obtained it by biting their victims and draining their blood. The bite of a vampire transferred a very mysterious enzyme found only within the saliva of a vampire into the bloodstream of the victim. If the vampire drank enough blood to cause the death of the victim, this enzyme would trigger an unusual metabolic change within the victim's body, beginning with the production of an unusual green liquid referred to as ichor into the bloodstream.After roughly three days, there would be enough of this liquid in the victims body that it would begin to course through the victims veins in the same way their blood once did. The victim then returned as a vampire and was capable of all the basic capabilities of ordinary humans, with the exception of being able to have children, plus a number of superhuman abilities. However, if the victim retained sufficient blood to survive the vampire's attack, he or she would begin to show signs of anemia because of the presence of the enzyme in his or her bloodstream. The victim would not die under such circumstances. Until a newly created vampire's body metabolized the enzyme, a process that might take as long as several months in some cases, he or she would be extremely weak and highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestions, verbally or through long range mental contact, by the vampire responsible for the attack. There was also a distinct possibility of the newly-turned vampire developing a perverse sexual attraction for the vampire responsible for the transformation.Note that a new vampire is not created unless the attacking vampire wishes to do so, or loses control and injects too much enzyme.

Willpower

The overall extent of a vampire's abilities depended upon the strength of the vampire's will. Exceptional vampires with powerful wills, such as Dracula or Varnae, were capable of summoning and controlling thunderstorms, even though the mystical concentration required to do so left them extremely weak for a certain period of time. The vampire's willpower could also determine the extent to which he or she could master their craving for blood and retain the same personality they had in life. However, most people that became vampires quickly found themselves unable to resist the all consuming craving for blood. They quickly degenerated into cruel and animalistic hunters of ordinary human beings, even if these new vampires had been kind and sensitive people in their mortal lives.

Summoning and Shape-shifting

Vampires could summon and control certain creatures such as bats, wolves, and rats. Vampires could also transform themselves into bats, and in the case of some vampires, wolves, while retaining their human intelligence in these forms. Some vampires could even become human-sized bats. Vampires could also transform themselves into mist at will, while still retaining their normal consciousnesses in that form.

Mind control

A vampire could make most human beings into his or her temporary slave if he or she could catch their gaze for a sufficient amount of time, usually only a matter of seconds. The exact length of time needed to mesmerize the victim depended on the strength of will of the vampire and that of his or her victim.

Health

Vampires were rendered immune to the ravages of disease and of aging. However, if deprived of blood for a lengthy period of time, a vampire would begin to show distinct signs of aging, such as his or her hair turning gray. Upon ingesting fresh blood, the vampire would revert to the age in which he or she had been at the time of death.In most cases, vampires were able to heal themselves from minor injuries within a very brief period of time. Some vampires, such as Count Dracula, could heal from severe burns or broken bones within the span of a few hours, where as most other vampires might require several days to heal the exact same injury. Vampires were not able to regenerate missing organs or severed portions of their anatomy, with the exception of hair. Apart from periodic inconveniences, injuries like these would not critically impair a vampire's effectiveness. Because the ichor was similar in function to blood, poisons and other toxic substances that were circulated in its bloodstream would adversely affect a vampire, although no dosage was large enough to cause death.

Average Strength level

Most vampires possessed superhuman physical strength anywhere from 10 to 20 times greater than they possessed in their mortal lives. The vast majority of known and recorded vampires were capable of lifting from 1,000lbs to 4,000lbs, with only Count Dracula and his predecessor Varnae being known to lift more at 4 and 7 tons respectively due to their special stance as ruler of Earth's vampire race.

Слабости: Weaknesses

Vampires had many limitations imposed upon their supernatural abilities, and even upon their very existence. Below are a listing of weaknesses common to supernatural vampires.

Blood Consumption

Vampires are regularly required to consume a few pints (litres) of blood every other night. Failing to do so would cause the vampire to weaken and after an extended period without blood seemingly perish. A vampires ability to metabolize blood and their frequency of feeding usually varies however depending on a number of factors: Length of time between feedings, damage or injury to the body, resurrection from a near death state, and excessive use of their supernatural abilities and strength.

Native Soil

Typically, vampires cannot travel more than 100 miles (160 km) from their land of birth, unless their bring at least one pound (500 g) of their native soil wherever they choose to sleep during the day. For example, Dracula would typically have coffins with dirt from his native Transylvania shipped to his various hideouts all over Europe and the United States so that he would have a place to rest unharmed from the sun. However, in many instances vampires (including Dracula) have been depicted being able to travel to far off places and sleep in locations that do not have their native lands earth on hand.The result of a vampire who does not do this remains unexplained, however given the instances that a vampire has slept without being around soil from their native land suggests that this is not a lethal weakness.

Sun Light

A vampires greatest weakness is sunlight, due to their altered metabolism, vampires were unable to withstand direct sunlight. Sunlight, somehow, caused the ichor to congeal within the vampire's veins and the skin to rapidly decay. Direct exposure to sunlight caused the vampire to dehydrate completely and turn to powder.Some vampires, such as Dracula have been able to reform their bodies following being turned to powder from the sun, while others have been completely obliterated from contact with the sun. The conditions in which a vampire can come back from the dead may be particular to one who is rightfully the lord of all vampires.

Religious Symbols

Vampires also had an aversion to any religious symbol (such as a crucifix, cross, Star of David, or holy water) wielded or placed by anyone who believes in the religious significance of the symbol. The size of the symbol was not a consideration on its ability to repel vampires, only the strength of belief: for example, a believing Christian wielding a small cross could hold a vampire at bay with it and even sear the vampire's flesh simply by touching him or her with it. However, the deity must be one that was believed in at the time of the vampire's original death; a cross had no effect on Varnae, for example, since he died approximately 16,000 years before the crucifixion.Another consideration is if the vampire in question worshiped the faith whose religious symbol is being used against them. For example, when David Eshocl used the Star of David against Dracula [2], Dracula was weakened by it's sight, but stated that because he followed Christianity and not Judaism before becoming a vampire, the Star had a lesser effect on him.Further, there may be an element of belief by proxy or a vampires own belief that a symbol may harm them, as there have been instances where a crucifix has been used by someone who is not holding the item. For example, Quincy Harker [3] and Elainne Turac [4] have both utilized weapons that would project the symbol of the cross against Dracula while not actually holding the religious symbol. Further, Quincy's faithful dog Saint, has a collar lined with silver crosses [5] that were able to harm Dracula. It's highly improbably that Saint understands the symbolism let alone having faith in Christianity, however either Quincy's faith, or Dracula's belief that the crosses could harm him caused the vampire lord pain.Lastly, a religious symbol can lose it's power over a vampire if the vampire is capable of making the believers faith falter. In a situation like that, the strength of the religious symbols ability to repel a vampire would weaken.

Invitations Only

Vampires also had a mystical aversion to entering any human dwelling place to which they were not verbally invited. Once invited, they could enter the place at any time thereafter. This appears to only be the case with peoples personal dwellings, as vampires have been seen entering public buildings without the need of being invited inside.

Impaling the Heart

Another weakness of vampires is to impale them through the heart, causing them to eventually decompose into a skeleton. Originally it was thought that a wooden stake would be the only means of doing so, however advancement in vampire hunting techniques have indicated that any object that can break through a vampires chest and pierce the hart is sufficient in killing a vampire. For example, Blade learned that wooden daggers would prove to be just as effective [6], while Frank Drake and Rachel van Helsing have used wooden bullets [7], Quincy Harker once even defeated Dracula by driving one of the spokes of his own wheelchair into Dracula's heart [8].However, this does not instantly kill a vampire, as their remains can be reanimated should someone remove the stake from their heart [9][10][11]

Garlic

The scent of Garlic can sap the strength of a vampire. It has been used as a rope to bind vampires, sapping their strength sufficiently to prevent them from breaking the bonds. However, this weakness is not a lethal one, however it can leave a vampire vulnerable to it's other weaknesses.

Magic

Magic wielders such as Doctor Strange and Topaz have been able to harm vampires with magic, and some spells have the effect to kill a vampire. The most lethal spell is the Montesi Formula is a spell from the Book of Darkhold which can destroy all vampires. It was once utilized to do just that, however upon it being broken all the vampires that were destroyed found themselves restored to life once more.

Other Limitations

Vampires cast no reflections, and their images could not be captured on film.